Canvas breadcrumbs

[waterrat]

I haven't seen this mentioned, though I may have missed it. My question is why in Canvas the breadcrumbs (the navigation links at the top of the pages as a user navigates the course) don't follow actual user navigation?

For example, if I click from my Home page into a Module and then into an assignment (a quiz for example), the breadcrumbs should be Home > Module > Quiz. Instead, the breadcrumbs are Home > Quizzes > Quiz. Because access to "all quizzes" is disabled in my course, clicking the breadcrumb Quizzes drops a student all the way back to the Home page. Within an assignment, I may link to additional pages in the course for review or reference, but the breadcrumbs will not work to bring a student back the assignment. This is unlike normal breadcrumb behavior elsewhere on the web and while I have work-arounds, I just wonder why it's set up this way.

[PrudenceClaros]

Hello Waterrat, 

In Canvas breadcrumbs reflect the hierarchical structure of a course, not the user's specific navigation history. This means they show an item's place within a category (e.g., Home > Quizzes > Quiz) rather than the path taken to get there (e.g., Home > Modules > Quiz).

This design provides:

• Provide Consistency: The breadcrumbs are the same no matter how a student finds the content.

• Show Organization: They help students understand the overall structure of the course and where different types of content are located.

When a disabled link like "Quizzes" in the breadcrumb sends a student back to the Home page, it's because that link is an entry point to a course index page, which has been hidden or deactivated, not a "back" button in the user's browser history.

Resources:

• How do I manage Course Navigation links? This official guide explains how to control which navigation links are visible to students, which is the key to preventing the "disabled page" issue you described.

• How do I use the Course Navigation Menu as an instructor? This guide offers a comprehensive overview of the navigation menu's functions from an instructor's perspective, providing context on how the different components work together. Hope this helps!

[waterrat]

Thank you for the reply. I understand how to use and manage the Navigation Menu, which really doesn't address the issue I wrote about.

I'm going to suggest that students are not seeking to understand the hierarchy of Canvas organization, they are seeking to travel the path of a course. Because Canvas breadcrumbs are not dynamic, traveling back to an assignment becomes a process of extra clicks and odd blockages depending on what an instructor hides or doesn't hide. I get that changing the way breadcrumbs work is probably not on anyone's radar, but the more training I receive about how to help students move successfully through a course, the more I look at the structures that impede them.

[PrudenceClaros]

Hi Waterrat!

That’s actually a sharp observation, and I understand the frustration. You’ve identified a common challenge in instructional design: students prefer a clear, linear path, but Canvas breadcrumbs reflect course hierarchy instead of user flow—making navigation feel clunky.

Even though breadcrumbs can’t be changed, these resources might come in handy:

• Canvas Community – Feature Ideas: Submit and vote for dynamic breadcrumb improvements.

• Canvas Guides – Course Design Checklists: Tips to make courses more navigable despite static breadcrumbs.

• Instructure Blog: Articles on best practices for student navigation and course flow.

[NickRiches]

I just posted on this very issue; https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Question-Forum/Why-doesn-t-Canvas-have-anything-equivalent.... I have also seen similar posts on this issue. The Canvas navigation features, e.g. breadcrumbs and course overview are poor, and the navigational hierarchy shown in the breadcrumbs makes little sense from a learner's perspective.